Matt Rhule Issues Transfer Portal Advice to Nebraska Team, Other College Football Players

With another transfer portal window opening next week, the coach offered a number of thoughts on the 105-man roster limit, what he tells his team, and where the process tends to go wrong.

Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule meets with the media after practice Saturday. / Kaleb Henry

Another round of the transfer portal is about to begin.

The spring transfer portal window runs from April 16-25. Since the end of the 2024 season, more than 2,100 FBS scholarship players have entered the portal.

Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule talked for several minutes about the transfer portal at his spring practice media availability Saturday.

"Players sometimes make a mistake going into the portal looking for an improved situation," Rhule said. "Unless you're not going to play somewhere, or you're not going to be in the 105, then absolutely you should find somewhere."

From left, Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen, head football coach Matt Rhule and 1890's Matt Davison meet before a Husker men's basketball game on March 1. / Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

Rhule said he wants players to make the "right decision based on the right information."

"Don't come to me later and say, 'well, they told me this but they end up doing that'," Rhule said. "If you've been here and we've always told you the truth as best we know, then if we tell you, 'hey this is where we see you', then you should probably listen as opposed to somebody out there. Everybody out there always has something better for you. Make sure you're listening to the right information and then do it the right way."

Rhule's message went beyond addressing the Huskers and was for college football players everywhere.

"I think too many outside people - parents, coaches - we're always trying to find a better situation. If you really are an NFL player, or you're really a great player, you'll make your situation good enough by just getting better," Rhule said. "If you're going to listen to some other college coach tell you, 'hey you'll be the starter,' then don't call me afterwards and say, 'well, I wasn't the starter'."

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule talks with officials during a review of a play last season. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

As for his own team, Rhule said those discussions now are similar to what was done for the last portal window.

"We told everybody in December, because that's what I thought was fair, 'hey, if we did the 105 right now you would be in the 105, you would be out of the 105, you would be competing for the 105'," Rhule said. "We try to do that to be fair. We tried to be transparent since day one."

Rhule believes Nebraska has the best opportunities for players looking to develop and improve over their time in college.

"If you stay in this place, and you stay in this weight room, this training facility, this training table for four years, you're probably going to get developed," Rhule said. "Chasing a better situation because you have a chance to go quicker but you're not getting the same training and all that, it doesn't make as much sense to me.

"If you're at a place like this, you should really only leave if you're never going to get on the field and you want to play."

Coaches Deion Sanders of Colorado and Matt Rhule of Nebraska shake hands after the Huskers' win last season over the Buffaloes. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Bryant, Rhule's son, is a freshman at the University of Nebraska. Rhule said if his son wasn't happy then he and his wife would help him find some place where he would be. That same rule applies to players on the team.

"If someone's not happy here, I want them to leave," Rhule said. "Just don't leave because someone's saying, hey, I can get you a couple more bucks or a couple more this or a couple more that.' I think a lot the guys that leave, they find out not all that's true."

Rhule is hopeful that House settlement ultimately includes a grandfather clause to have previously rostered players remain on the team.

"I was in Big Ten meetings early on where I was a major proponent of grandfathering people in. Even if you went 120, 115, 110, 105. I know some other conferences had some concerns about that," Rhule said.

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule before last year's season opener against UTEP. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Rhule noted that he has been "pleased" with some of the guys that have moved on and found spots, even though he hated to see them go. He mentioned Mason Jones to Lindenwood as well as Ryker Evans and Dae'vonn Hall at UNK.

"I want the guys to be somewhere, in school, playing football, happy," Rhule said.

You can watch Rhule's full media availability below.

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